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TOCA STUDENT · Lesson 22 · Practice

How to assess your own dancing without tearing yourself down

I am bad is not information. It is a verdict, and you cannot work with a verdict. My weight stopped halfway is information, and you can do something with it tonight.

Dawou Tarraxo, pioneer of Tarraxo. How to assess your own dancing without tearing yourself down

Describe what the movement produced, not who you are. Choose evidence, a video, a partner's feedback, one clean repetition. Then one priority at a time and let the rest wait.

Fear of the mistake freezes the body and narrows attention. Being hard on yourself is not rigour, it is friction.

Replace one judgement with one observable technical sentence.

Filming yourself is the fastest feedback loop in kizomba and tarraxo.

Awareness is honest, not cruel.

Self-assessment without self-judgement, step by step

  1. ASSESS YOUR DANCE WITHOUT ATTACKING YOURSELF.
  2. I am bad is not information. It is a verdict.
  3. My weight stopped halfway is information. You can work with it.
  4. Describe what the movement produced, not who you are.
  5. Choose evidence. A video, a partner's feedback, one clean repetition.
  6. One priority at a time. The rest can wait.
  7. Fear of the mistake freezes the body and narrows attention.

The full carousel

How to assess your own dancing without tearing yourself down, slide 1 of 9 How to assess your own dancing without tearing yourself down, slide 2 of 9 How to assess your own dancing without tearing yourself down, slide 3 of 9 How to assess your own dancing without tearing yourself down, slide 4 of 9 How to assess your own dancing without tearing yourself down, slide 5 of 9 How to assess your own dancing without tearing yourself down, slide 6 of 9 How to assess your own dancing without tearing yourself down, slide 7 of 9 How to assess your own dancing without tearing yourself down, slide 8 of 9 How to assess your own dancing without tearing yourself down, slide 9 of 9

This lesson comes from the book

Page 64 of The student's book by Dawou Tarraxo, the TOCA Method page this lesson comes from
The student's book · page 64

The student’s book takes dancers from the first foundations to real feeling. The teacher’s guide gives instructors the structure to pass it on. Both in English, French and Spanish, on Amazon and Apple Books.

The student’s book The teacher’s guide

The method

T O C A

Two bodies. One connection.

TTouchThe connection with your partner. Feeling through contact, never through force.
OObservationListening to your partner’s body, energy and tempo.
CControlMastery of your own movement. Precision without tension.
AAwarenessFull presence: with yourself, your partner and the music.